Debate Topics -- Which side are you on?

Check out some of our debate topics for the week.  Read about them and form your own opinion.
1.  Are books better than television?
2.  Should junk food be banned in schools?
3.  Should it be legal to keep animals in cages or zoos?
4.  Is year round school a good idea?
5.  Should kids wear uniforms to school?
6.  Should skateboarding be banned in public places?
7.  Should the driving age be raised to 18?
8.  Should animals be used for scientific experiments?

Check out some debate topics that I posted for my students last year.  Look here and here.

Debate Topics -- 2017

This week we will be holding debates in class.

Check out a few of the debate topics ahead of time:
Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Extra Tax on Soda
Chocolate Milk in Schools
Are athletes paid too much?
Recess every day?

Debate Topics 2015

We will be debating this week in preparation for our persuasive writing unit.  Check out a few of the debate topics available to us:

1. Should schools require uniforms for students?
2. Should sports teams be allowed to use Native American mascots? (Washington Redskins)
3. Should animals be kept in zoos or cages?
4. Should skateboarding be allowed on city sidewalks?
5. Should junk food be banned in schools?
6. Are books better than television?
7. Should Pluto be changed back to a planet?

Debate Topic: Should Plastic Bags Be Banned?

We read about this topic in our Scholastic News this week.  What should be done?  Read a few of these links for more information about this topic as we debate and write persuasively about it.

How does this have an effect on your life?  Read about San Jose's plastic bag ban.

Ban Plastic Bags -- Why does this 11 year old author feel this way?
Unintended Consequences -- Why does this author feel this way?

Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- Nat Geo
Paper vs. Plastic
Pro & Con newspaper article about bag bans.
European perspective on this issue.
Plastic Bags and Take Out Containers

5th Grade Debate Topics

We will be debating in class next week.  If you want to check out some of our debate topics ahead of time, here they are.
1.  Should the school day be longer?
2.  Should fifth grade be at the middle school?
3.  Should people be rewarded for recycling or fined if they don't?
4.  Traditional schools vs. virtual schools.
5.  Should schools stop selling chocolate milk?
6.  Should students be learning about agriculture?
7.  Do you prefer the metric or customary system of measurement?
8.  Should Pluto still be considered a planet?

What's your opinion?  If you feel strongly about one of these topics, state it in the comment section.
Check out our previous debate topics on the old teacherp website.